The Red Promenade
by J.R.R. Lovett
Summary: Bonnie crashes the prom with an unexpected date and is faced with the question of what she really wants by someone who is determined to have it all. Update: (8/23/2013) I will finish this. Promise.
1. Part I

The whole place was dressed to the 9s, but Bonnie Bennett garnered every eye upon her arrival. She wasn't sure if it was because the wine colored Vera Wang gown was as breathtaking to them as it was to her or if the 1,000 year old original vampire escorting her through the ballroom contributed to that. The top of the dress was covered in crystals, while the bottom had two high slits, that revealed more than enough leg with each step. Bonnie's hair was styled in an elegant bun and her eyes sparkled beneath the festoon of lights dangling from the ceiling. Klaus gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. The youthful faces were familiar to her, but they stared back as if she were the proverbial new girl.

Before they walked through the foyer, he'd placed a tiara on her head and adorned his own with a crown. He promised her this would be the best night of her life. Instead of a live atm for spells and a cold-hearted monster, they were Prince Klaus and Duchess Bonnie. Their only purpose was to dance until their feet hurt.

Even the coldest man in Mystic Falls could have a night off from being the villain.

It seemed a crying shame for a lovely witch to be at home alone on a night like this just because she didn't have a date. Since his pursuit of Caroline ended before it began, he had a suit he looked quite dapper in and a hand-beaded dress straight from Italy coffined inside of garment bags– and as it turned out the wine colored dress complemented green eyes.

It seemed like it would be fun after she put on the dress; to show her friends she didn't need their pity offers. Stefan offered to take her, but she didn't want to ruin their "Stebekah" groove. Elena offered Damon (while he objected in the background), but she couldn't think of anything more miserable than a pity date from the older Salvatore. Jeremy asked her as well, but their breakup was so fresh that it just wasn't a good idea to go picking at wounds before they healed. Rolling the trash can out to the curb in her pjs transformed into an offer from the Original who had been watching her house for twenty minutes. When a girl is presented with a beautiful gown and the promise of the best night she'd ever have in her life, it's pretty hard to turn the offer down. So after threatening to take him down if he got out of line, Bonnie accepted.

"Is that Bonnie?" That was Caroline. "That's Bonnie." She answered her own question.

"What the hell is she doing with Klaus?" Asked Damon, widening his steely blues.

"It appears that with a little persuasion your witch isn't as uptight as I thought she was." Rebekah raised her glass of punch. AnotherMickaelson infiltrating the Scooby Gang? "Now that's something i'lldrink to." She glanced at Stefan, who (by the appearance of two horizontal lines across his forehead) was monitoring the situation.

Before he could speak Elena stood from her seat. "He must've . . . compelled her or something."

Damon rolled his eyes, not bothering to look at the doppleganger who usually had no problem getting his attention. "Witches can't be compelled."

Elena pouted. "I know, but why would Bonnie come here with Klaus? There has to be a loop-hole or maybe Bonnie has a plan . . . but she didn't tell me anything."

"I'm going to kill him," said Caroline, shifting her weight from leg to leg. "He's trying to get my attention by dragging poor Bonnie into his sick little game."

"I guess delusional is your drug of choice for the evening?" said Rebekah. "Nik hasn't looked over here once."

"Duh. He wants me to think he isn't up to no good. If he thinks i'm going to let him get away with this-"

"I'll talk to him," said Stefan.

"Relax, little brother. Get that brooding forehead a drink," said Damon, patting Stefan's shoulder. "I'll find out what he's up to."

No one had a smile like Bonnie Bennett. No one. Damon had been around over over a century and he was certain that was all the time he needed to conclude. It was like she knew it too, because she didn't just hand them out to anyone. Yet there she was - her arms draped over Klaus' shoulders, her hips swaying to some cheesy pop song and . . .she was smiling at him. What was even more unorthodox to Damon was the fact that the maniac was staring back at her, his jaw clenched and the corners of his lips shifted to keep himself from smiling - like some pimply faced teen who was desperately trying to be cool for his insanely hot date.

After dancing for three songs straight, they lingered in front of a banquet table. Klaus was pouring them glasses of punch and humming along to a tune by Adrian Lux.

"Everyone is watching us."

"Because they're jealous," said Klaus with his signature sinister smirk. "You're the most exquisite thing in this room."

"No one is jealous. They're thinking i'm insane," she fidgeted with her necklace. "Maybe this was a mis-"

"-stake? No." Klaus shook his head, then handed her the cup. "On the contrary this is the best decision you've ever made."

"And by best he means insanely creepy," interrupted Damon, reaching for an hors d'oeuvre

"Bonnie-"

"Duchess Bonnie Bennett," corrected Klaus.

"What?"

Maybe Bonnie wasn't the one compelled. Was Klaus really at a highschool prom, trying to look cool in a doofy crown and calling the witch a duchess? He could understand flunking badass-original-vampire-101 over Caroline, but this was Bonnie. Uptight. Judgy. Witchy. Bitchy. He scratched his head.

The witch pointed to her crown, with a little smile (nothing like the smile he'd seen her give to Klaus). "I'm a duchess tonight."

"Well, how flipping inconsiderate of me," said Damon in a monotone as he bowed before her. He was used to marching right up to her, telling her the plan and hoping she didn't fry his brain – not begging her to talk to him. Who was he now? Jeremy Gilbert? He scoffed at that thought. Once he was upright again, he took one of her hands into his, then brought it to his mouth for a kiss. "Duchess Witchy, dance with me."

Before that skeptical glare could manifest into a 'no', he took the cup out of her other hand, placed it on the table and pulled her through the crowd of teenagers. The room was heavy with the sound 'Excuses' by Minus the Bear and random chattering. When he settled on a spot near a bay-style window, he pulled her and her vanilla orchid scent into his embrace. He led, and Bonnie followed his rhythm with ease.

"What did he do to get you on his side?" he asked.

She raised a brow. "His side? I didn't know we were playing a game."

"Forget semantics. Why are you here with Klaus?"

She spun away from him."Why does it matter?"

"Because I only have one witch on my team and i'm not letting you play Bonnie Benedict-Arnold," said Damon, pulling her against him so that her back was pressed against his chest. "So again, what did he offer you? "

"Putting your usual douche-baggage aside, he offered me this gown and the best night of my life. No catch. Just dancing, laughter and being young."

One of his arms was wrapped around her waist. The witch started to get fidgety so he closed the last bit of space between them by interlocking their fingers with his free hand.

Her heart thudded in her chest and she was a stiff as cardboard. Her fingertips felt weighed with brewing power. She felt flushed from her feet to the ends of her hair – the confusing part was that she wasn't sure if she was flushed with teenaged bashfulness or a witchy desire to reprimand her natural enemy.

"Relax. It's not like i'm going to bite you," he said, when she tried to dance her way out of the position they were in. "I need to keep an eye on Klaus. I can't do that if I'm leading you and your two left feet."

"You know, you could just end this pointless conversation."

He swayed her from side to side.

"You know he just wants to make blondie jealous, right? He's not here out of the kindness of his non-existent heart."

"We aren't together so I don't see what that has to do with me."

"So Jeremy buys you a stuffed animal the size of Mount Rushmore and asks to take you to prom a million times and you turn him down. Stefan offers. You turn him down too-although I don't blame you for that. I ask you and you turn me down-"

"Elena asked me – not you – and you said you'd rather swim in vervain on the hottest day in August without your ring than to be my 'pity date'."

He molded his features into a Grinch-like simper. "I guess if I would've known you cleaned up so well I would've disregarded your terrible personality."

"_My_ terrible personality? Don't make me laugh."

"Isn't that what you wanted? To laugh and dance on the best night of your life?" he mocked.

"I'd prefer to laugh _with_ someone not at them."

"So that's all it took? That was really all you wanted?"

"Yes, that's all I want. No surprises. No death threats. No spirits. I want to just . . . dance and laugh. I forgot what that feels like. "

"This may go against the laws of nature, but I'm feeling charitable tonight," said Damon. "You want the best night ever? I can give you that."

"Or maybe you're looking for me to give you that." She relaxed her shoulders a bit. "You don't look like you're having much fun."

How could he? Once you've attended one prom, you've attended them all. And it was no fun seeing her arrive with Klaus of all people. He could usually count on her to be rational for the most part. But this was unlike Bonnie. He was also feeling unlike himself.

"Do you remember that barrier you used to trap Katherine?" Of course she did, but she nodded instead of responding with snark. "Can you put one up now? One that keeps them from seeing or hearing us?"

"Why?"

"Because I need to ask you something and there are too many vampire ears tapping into our conversation," he said, tilting his head toward the Scooby Gang and Rebecca.

With a few quick incantations, the room became completely silent on their end.

Bonnie pulled away from the annoying vampire. "What is it?"

Damon was already kneeling in front of her. "Give me your foot."

When she extended her leg he used vamp speed to nudge her against the barrier and position himself between her thighs. She didn't realize what happened until her leg was wrapped around Damon's waist and she was stuck between the barrier and his torso. He shoved a hand beneath her skirt and groaned at his discovery.

"Bonnie . . ." He pressed his forehead against hers with closed eyes.

She was going to flatten him like a pancake for sure – but the feeling of her satin panties gliding against her arousal for him, was worth a thousand of her best spells. He drove his pelvis between her spread legs, letting her feel the effect she had on him.

"Damon, " she breathed – somehow he could sense the fear, anger and lust in her tone. "Stop before you make a huge mistake."

"How long have you wanted this?"

"I don't want anything from you."

"You're wet," he taunted."Which probably means you want me inside of you."

Her warm breath tickled his mouth when she moaned.

"I want you to stop being an asshole and move."

"I've wanted you ever since I saw you in your cheerleading uniform," he said, unashamed by his confession. "I can't tell you how many times i've imagined screwing you in that skirt- shutting up that judgy mouth of yours-"

"I'm going to hurt you," she warned.

"Have you thought about me?"

"Damon," she whimpered in a pleading voice that seemed so foreign coming from her.

"Answer me."

"Yes," she snapped.

"What was I doing to you?"

"I was giving you an aneurysm," she seethed. "Which i'm about to do right now."

"Bonnie." He reprimanded the witch in his own way, by rocking against her.

"You were . . . kissing me . . . and touching me."

"Did you like it?"

She frowned. "I don't know. It was a dream- a nightmare. I don't remember the specs."

"Show me how I touched you."

"I'm not gonna do that."

"Fine, show me how I kissed you."

"Not gonna do that either."

"Bonnie no one is watching," he said. "It's just us in here and I don't believe a word you're saying."

"That makes two of us. You've done some really low things in the past, but has to be the lowest. Atleast all the other times you were using me to protect Elena. Now you want to use me to hurt her?" she narrowed her eyes. "Or is this because you still think i've switched _sides_?"

"When you were with Jeremy, I wanted to snap his neck. When you were in the classroom making out with Jaime, I wanted to snap his neck. When you were gushing about Professor McCreepypants, I wanted to snap his neck and now that you're here with Klaus, I want to snap his neck. What does that tell you?"

"That you're crazy," she said.

The rest of her sentence was muffled between the weight of his lips. His teeth clashed against hers, and he abandoned her thigh to cup her face with both hands. He kissed her with the same fervor and demand that he'd imagined himself doing. He nibbled her lip, probed her tongue and tilted her head back so that he could taste every inch of her mouth. After the initial smugness of capturing Bonnie Bennett started to fade, he had enough time to realize that she wasn't kissing him back. When he opened his eyes, he was met with an incensed glare. He had enough sense to take a few steps back. The air felt heady; filled with bruised ego, fear, anger and lust.

"So you're taking a page out of my book? I'm supposed to believe you don't want me as much as I want you?" He was giving a lot more than he was receiving and he didn't like it one bit. "Next you're probably going to say you don't care. So predictable."

Bonnie smoothed her hands over her dress. Her earrings dangled freely when she shook her head at him. "I care about Elena and because Elena cares about you, I care. But that's where it stops. I don't want you."

He schooled his expression into what he hoped was indifference. He didn't love Bonnie, but still he felt cut down. Rejected. Sweet, sweet rejection. He smirked.

"My instincts are telling me to pretend I was just yanking your chain, but . . ." He put his hands in his pockets. "Ouch."

"It's prom," she smiled. "No one's trying to kill us tonight. We both look nice. Let's just forget this happened and have a good time. Capeesh ?"

"Capeesh," he agreed. Knowing by the end of the night he'd mentally twist this situation into something that didn't make him feel like such a loser. "And nice? Try 'amazing, gorgeous, stunning'."

"Do you have to take every opportunity to give yourself a compliment?"

"I was talking about you, Bonnie."

It caught her off guard, and one of those smiles that she seemed to give to everyone but him slipped.

She mumbled the incantation to shatter their barrier. They were back amongst the same silly teenagers Damon was hoping to whisk Elena away from before Bonnie walked in.

Elena was staring at him with scrunched brows. He expected her to be halfway across the room, but she was still standing in the same spot. Disappearing wasn't apart of the plan and neither was the dance – which she was still trying to debate on whether it was inappropriate boyfriend behavior or not. But Bonnie wouldn't behave in a way that was inappropriate. Bonnie was the last person that would take crap from Damon or hurt her.

Breakfast at Tiffany's blared through the speakers.

"I kinda like this song," Bonnie revealed.

"Well, that's one thing we have in common."

"One more dance?"

He responded by holding his hands out. The witch stepped out of her pumps, and kicked them to the side before pressing her palms against his. Damon scoffed.

"You can take down original vampires and every other thing that comes to Mystic Falls, but you can't dance through more than three songs in high heels?"

"I guess it's my Achilles heel . . . literally. I'm pretty sure I'll have a blister after tonight."

She met his fast past lead with as much ease as she did at the homecoming dance. He was still surprised that a stiff like Bonnie could dance so well- she looked alluring without being raunchy.

He wagged his brows at the Scooby Gang midway through the song after realizing they were still watching them. Elena's arms were folded over her chest, and Caroline whispered something that Damon didn't catch. Whatever it was, it made the Doppelganger unfold her arms and give him a grin. She winked at Bonnie. Caroline waved. Though she was obviously off her rocker by showing up with their enemy, they had to admit that their friend looked beautiful. "I should've accepted that dress," said Caroline.

Even Klaus was watching, and no sooner than the instrumental faded he strolled to the opposite side of the room with a knowing smirk. Both Salvatores were in quite the conundrum. Stefan was there with his dear sister, yet spent most of his time watching Elena. Damon was there with Elena, and happy to have one up on his brother, until his witch decided to show up with a date.

"Are you going to keep her for the entire night?" Klaus asked, a devious glint in his eyes.

"She's all yours." Damon shrugged out of mere habit, and when he pulled himself away from her there was definite longing that loomed over him. "Have the best night of your life, Witchy."

"You too."

He was pretty certain he already did.

* * *

Musical influences:

Taylor Swift "Starlight"

Deep Blue Something "Breakfast at Tiffany's"

Minus the Bear "Excuses"


	2. Part II

Initially a completed one shot, but I decided to add a few more chapters.

Also the rating went from** T** to **M**

* * *

Elena draped her arms over his shoulders - she kissed the outline of his jaw and whispered saucy things she would do to him later that night. He should've been feeling her up, teasing her and dirty-talking her under the table. But he was looking over her shoulder, watching Klaus walk toward the entrance with Bonnie in tow.

Suddenly the very thing he despised stared him in the face. Those riotous wasps in his stomach. The frown pinned down his signature smirk, and he was forced to ask questions like: Where is Klaus taking her? Why the hell is she leaving so soon? They haven't even announced prom queen yet; she should be here for you. That last sentence he said aloud. He knew that he didn't give a damn about prom royalty, Elena didn't give a damn about winning, and Bonnie always had more important things to worry about - like saving their asses. Sticking around to see who won prom queen would be the last thing that made her stay. Still, he needed to know. Klaus was well behaved all night, but he still didn't quite trust his motives. He hadn't stolen a single glance at Caroline. He was counting on catching him in the act so that he could taunt him about it. Damon planned on asking Bonnie if she wanted to dump Klaus and go to the Grille with them after prom. She was ruining his plan - again.

He had the manners to wait an obligatory minute until the song was over before excusing himself. Elena narrowed her eyes, shifting her gaze from Damon to the rounded entrance way.

"Where are you going?"

"To make sure your friend knows how incredibly stupid she's being," he said.

"Just leave it alone. Bonnie knows what she's doing. I trust her. If she feels safe with Klaus, then she's safe," she said, grabbing his hand. "Stop worrying."

"I'm not _worried_," Damon spit the last word out like it tasted foul. "I'd just like her to stay alive for now. No telling what tomorrow holds."

"She'll be fine. She looked like she was having a great time. Maybe they just went off to be alone for a while," said Elena. "It has to be weird having everyone staring at them all night."

"I wasn't staring."

"I didn't say that you were," she frowned. His sour mood was started to dull the whole night. Couldn't he just be considerate of her for once, and not include his own woes? The least he could do was look content. She didn't even need him to look elated to be there. Just content. They stood in silence for a few laborious seconds before said "You know this night is important to me."

That signaled a humorless laugh. "Of course I know this night is important to you. You only mentioned it - oh I don't know- five million times? No. Five million and one times since you just mentioned it yet again."

She paused. Tasted the bitter words in her mouth, then swallowed them. Instead she opted for something less incensing, "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing."

"Are you angry with me for dancing with Stefan? We were just talking."

"I'm not worried. I'm not mad. I just . . ." he pulled away from their embrace. "I just need to go."

And before either of them could realize it, he was pushing his way through the students. _DAMON. DAMON. DAMON. _That was Elena trailing behind him, but he was much like the bull who saw red. He wasn't quite sure what he was going to do once he got there, but he needed to get there. He felt Elena interlock her arm around his. "You're going to be embarrassed when you realize everything is fine," she said, with a girlish giggle. When she stepped on the train of her dress, she gasped. "Not so fast, Damon." _Fast_.** Faster.** _They might be gone already. _

If Klaus was the type of man he imagined him to be, his tongue could've been caressing Bonnie's tonsils by now. He had no problem with that. Bonnie could kiss whatever low lives she wanted. He didn't give a damn, but his legs gave a couple of damns. Once he was near the entrance, that brisk walk through the crowd became a jog. Elena said something, but he didn't catch it. By the time they reached the foyer, that human-esque jog became a pursuit of the witch and original at vamp speed. He ran until the wind graced him with vanilla orchid scent. The witch was sitting on the hood of her car. Her shoes were off, and she was pulling her hair out of the bun that had given up on her after over an hour of dancing her heart out. Klaus was trying to get her attention by pointing up at the sky, Damon followed his direction. Venus was visible tonight. Now Klaus was going to try one of his old pick lines on Bonnie. Venus is the planet of love . . . yadda, yadda, yadda. . . when two people are in the presence of her it means they are destined to make love at some point in their lives . . . blah, blah, blah . . . my place or yours or right now?

"See. She's fine. Let's go back."

"She's not fine."

"They're just hanging out," Elena said.

He'd shared everything. He shared his parents with Stefan when he was born, he took both of them away from him. He shared Katherine, Stefan took her away from him. He felt that he should've given him Elena for all the trouble he'd caused him, but now he had a piece of her too. Now, here was Bonnie Bennett. He'd protected her ancestors, did his best to protect her and not only was he the bad guy, but he wasn't worthy of returning a kiss - not even abandoning a second to consider it. If anything belonged to him, it should've been the Bennett witch. He'd take a second to ponder that thought later. He walked to her car and before he said anything Klaus grinned.

"Damon," he acknowledged. "To what do we owe the pleasure?"

He ignored what he knew was taunting, and let the bull go straight for the red. The witch. "What are you doing out here?"

Bonnie glanced behind her just to make sure she was the recipient of the scornful glare she received She was certain that if Elena weren't standing behind him, he would've lurched and attempted to end her life a second time. The human side of her was responsible for the way her breath hitched in her throat. The witch in her had a spell dancing on the tip of her tongue.

"He thinks Klaus wants to hurt you," Elena said with a sigh.

"For the last time-"

" Are you out here to make out with him? Are you planning on screwing him in your car or something?"

"Mind your temper. You wouldn't want anyone getting the wrong idea would you?" said Klaus.

It was a wonder smoke didn't shoot out of her ears. She slid off the car in one fluid motion and was standing at collarbone level with gritted teeth.

"What did you say to me?"

"Klaus. You're dancing with Klaus, staring at him like he's the second coming of Luke Perry all night . . . I never took you for the bitch in heat type. " The Whiskey spiked punch and what he wouldn't accept as jealousy made him malicious. The words felt heavy on his tongue, but he couldn't stop himself - because just behind the raw rage in her eyes, was pain. It was the same pain he'd been feeling for most his life. "You dump Jaime, dump Jeremy because he made a mistake - spent a hell of a long time trying to make up for it too - but people can't make mistakes in your judgy little fucked up world, can they? Except maybe Klaus."

Bonnie flinched at his words. Damon did a lot of things that bared consequences for her, but he'd never talked to her the way he was talking to her now.

"Damon, that's Bonnie," Elena cut in. "What are you doing? It's _Bonnie."_

Damon thought he saw the exact moment that her rage was pinned down by his words. Her eyes had a misty look to them, and she shoved him with all of the strength she could muster - as if he weren't good enough to waste her magic on. He saw her hand coming toward his cheek, and he could've grabbed it, or worse, but he braced himself for the sting. She felt vindicated by the smack.

"First you're trying to save me from Klaus like i'm actually your friend and now you're talking to me like i'm some judgmental whore," she said, the hurt his accusations caused evident in her shaky voice. "Which is it?"

His jaw tightened.

"Which one am I?" she said through clenched teeth.

Damon was quiet for a moment. He wasn't sure if he knew the answer to that himself. He knew for sure that she wasn't a whore, but he knew that she was judgmental. He knew that sometimes he care about her, but he wasn't sure if they were quite friends. "I'm trying to figure that out myself," he said, trying to imitate his usual smug tone.

"I don't know why I'm even surprised," she said. "You're not good. You're a monster and anyone who tries to see otherwise is just fooling themselves."

"Careful, before you make me cry."

"I don't know . . . you looked pretty close to tears when I didn't kiss you back earlier," she spat. Bonnie immediately regretted it. In her bloodlust to hurt Damon the same way he'd hurt her, she'd completely disregarded Elena. That wasn't her. She didn't hurt other people for her own sake. That was Damon Salvatore. Always there to bring out the worst sides of her. "Elena . . . I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I didn't mean it."

"You kissed her?" Elena demanded at her highest octave. She stood between Damon and Bonnie, her fists clenched at her sides as she lurched toward him. "How could you do something like that to me? To her?"

"You don't care about her. You care about yourself," he accused.

Without warning she hit him with enough force to push his head to the side. Damon was an immortal fuck up. Fucking up was what he did best. But to come on to Bonnie? Of all people? Her friend? Just the thought of him leaning in to kiss her made her shake her head - she'd hoped the image would fall out, but it was still there. "You want to hurt me. You're angry with me for dancing with Stefan and this is your passive agressive way of getting back at me."

"Because everything is_ always _about Elena Gilbert . . . " he bit.

She reached out to hit him again, but he caught her wrist. He'd reached his quota for the night.

"Well, love, we should get out of here. No need to get stuck in the crossfire," pipped Klaus. He was positively enjoying the lover's quarrel, but he had better things to tend to.

Damon released Elena's wrist, then stepped around her. He gave Klaus a look that could've sent him to the lowest point in hell. "You're not taking her anywhere."

"You don't expect her to walk home or did you want to do the honors?" He ignored Klaus' knowing smirk.

"Bonnie, I'm sorry," he said with more harshly than he intended. "I'm sorry." He wasn't quite sure what he was apologizing for, but it felt right.

"See," Bonnie reached for Elena's hand, but she folded her arms and took a few steps back. Not letting the blatant rejection stop her, she said. "It was just a mistake. I didn't say anything because I knew it was something he regretted. I'd never do that to you. You know i'd never hurt you."

"But you'd hurt yourself?" Damon cut in. She didn't even look at him, and that made his temper flare. He stepped in front of her, looming over her in a predatory way that raised her guard. "You'd hurt yourself? You'd hurt me?"

"What are you-"

"-You know what i'm talking about." He grabbed her shoulders, her skin was warmer than usual. Her heartbeat grew faster. She was afraid - ready to give him an aneurysm at any moment. He rested his forehead against hers and her body tensed beneath his calloused palms. "You won't admit it to me, to yourself, to anyone, but this isn't one-sided. I'm used to rejection, witchy, but you forget i'm also used of being desired."

"Stop." She pulled her head away from his, but soon his fingers were buried in her hair, returning her back to where he needed her to be.

"You can't even stand to be close to me," he growled. "Because you're too _good._ You're so good that you'll deny everything you want if it meant someone else would be without - except the people around you don't give a shit about what you want."

She tried to struggle against him, but before she could make any real advancements, her back was pressed against the car door. Damon interlocked their fingers, squeezing her hands in frustration. She winced. He didn't intend to hurt her; he was just a prisoner of his suppressed desires. "Everyone else gets what that want, even me sometimes, but you? Nothing. And you never say anything. You just fucking take it."

"Shut up," she heaved, cowering away from the pathetic girl he'd just described. Surely, that girl wasn't her.

"You can't even tell me why you don't want me without it involving Elena," he laughed without humor. "You don't have another reason."

"I have plenty of reasons," Bonnie defended.

"None of them matter, little bird," he spoke above a whisper. She didn't recognize the nickname because it was something he called her in his mind, and before that night he hadn't shared it with anyone. He hadn't meant to share it that night either. Still it carried the warmth of her favorite blanket and that unsettled her.

"They_ do _matter." She wondered if he meant her reasons or the people who would be hurt. In any case both absolutely mattered. "They matter to me."

"They shouldn't. Not right now."

"Haven't you hurt enough people, Damon? Haven't you hurt me enough?" she closed her eyes to avoid his deviant ones. "I've given you enough."

He knew she was referring to the sacrifices she made for him. His controversial choices. Still, he refused to be reprimanded by her. It was high time she came off of that fucking high horse.

"You didn't give me anything," he said darkly. "I took it."

"So you want to take what ever is important to me?"

"I don't want anything from you ... except everything you have" he cradled her chin between the curve of his thumb and index finger. When she didn't open her eyes he squeezed. His free hand trailed along the curve of her hips and he noted that her breathing hitched. " And whatever is left after that."

She turned her head to see that both Elena and Klaus were gone and every moment she wasted with Damon, the more hurt and angry Elena would become. She needed to assure her that she wasn't that type of person. She didn't ask for this. She would stay away from Damon if that's what she wanted.

"I think I preferred it when you called me a whore," she said. "That was a lot less offensive than trying to tell me this bullcrap and expecting me to fall for it. I may not always get the things I want, but you're a sucker for love. You're trying to use me to get over Elena, just like you used Elena to help you get over Katherine."

"You don't know what-"

"I do know. I may not understand why you do certain things, but I know you better than you think."

He released her, took a few steps back and narrowed his eyes. "You forget that I didn't just come to this bumfuck town to get Katherine. I came to protect you. I've been protecting your line for over a century. It's a force of habit now. Even when I think I don't give a shit about you, I do something that makes me question it."

"What's your point?" she snapped, more angry at herself than she was with him. He could say all the crap he wanted, but that didn't mean she had to let herself get sucked in. She should've walked off moments ago. She should've gone after Elena. She had a choice.

"You're hungry."

Her brows furrowed. She hadn't expected him to respond that way.

"W-what?"

"I heard your stomach growling, you know, vamp hearing and all." He pointed to his ear with a tiny smirk. "I could take you somewhere. Free Food. Liquor. I'll even tell you what my point was if I can think of one."

"Having dinner and talking about our problems. I'm pretty sure that would be considered a date."

"So?"

"You should go back inside and apologize to Elena. Tell her you had too much to drink. You didn't mean what you did, and tomorrow i'll apologize for not telling her what you did in private, instead of blurting it out the way I did." She tucked her hair behind her ears, then slipped her feet back into her heels. Her lips were tense and she had the same thoughtful look on her face - like she'd been asked to solve a difficult Calculus problem. And she was just beautiful.

"Kiss me."

"Damon, I'm not going to kiss you. I already told you I wouldn't."

"But you want to." He wasn't sure if that was a question or a statement, but he tried his best to make it sound like the latter.

She had her shoes on, her clutch in hand and all she needed to do was hop in her car. It wasn't until she opened her purse that remembered she hadn't driven to the prom. She cursed beneath her breath.

"Elena's probably telling everyone I kissed you right now. Caroline's probably trying to calm her down. Stefan is debating on whether he should come out here and lecture me. I could think of about a million other places I want to be," he said. "I'll drive you home."


	3. Part III

"No." The rejection catapulted out of her mouth. She folded her arms, and shook her head just in case he didn't catch it the first time - or maybe to reprimand herself for taking a split second to consider his offer to drive her home. "You're going back inside or i'm going to use you as a guinea pig for a couple new spells I picked up over the weekend."

Damon tried to school his features into one of disinterest, and he thought about coming up with a story about him being bored all night and just wanting to prank her just for the hell of it. But he was curious, irritated and a whole lot of other emotions he felt were above vampires. He'd had nuns show less restraint than Bonnie did. He'd put himself out there on a platter, the least she could do was let go and kiss him back for a second. Even if she did her usual song and dance about finding him repulsive, he could've atleast had a little victory in the fact that she was under someone else's spell for a chance. Now she wouldn't even let him drive her home? Did she know how many girls would kill for that offer?

"You'd actually let Klaus drive you home?"

"He drove me here," she said. "I can take care of myself."

"Klaus can go from zero to a raving lunatic who shoves a lamp through your stomach like _that_," he snapped his fingers to emphasize. "You're our witch. If I think you're doing something stupid, I'm going to stop you."

"Are you on drugs?"asked Bonnie. "Or do you just have some kind of sick goal to taste, kill or _do_ _it_ with every girl in Mystic Falls?"

He flicked a dark brow at the thought. Perhaps that could be a future aspiration. Right now, he was in a funk of sorts. Elena actually had the nerve to call him a big teddy bear a few weeks prior. Maybe he was softening up. Small town life could change a person for the better or the worse with it's languorous pace. Not that Mystic Falls was boring all the time, but the past couple of weeks were calm. He missed the hustle and bustle of the city - preferably any city without glossy-haired doppelgangers with beautiful witch friends. It was easy to get so caught up in kicking ass every week that the normal days seemed unbearable.

Bonnie was supposed to be a badass - well, maybe not _suppose _to- but he thought she'd be a lot more fun if she loosened up. Outside of the Scooby Gang Show, their spin-off could've been Batman and Robin if she used her witchiness for fun sometimes. They made a pretty good team when the situation desperately called for it. He smiled at that thought. A week ago if someone would've told him he'd be wishing to be the Robin to the Bennett witch's Batman he would've asked them what kind of alcohol they drank because clearly they had the good stuff.

How could she have the best night of her life with that stick up her ass? He wanted to ask, but correctly assumed that wouldn't be the wisest thing to do.

"You know, one night of fun won't make you a bad person," he said, "You're like the hall monitor of witches."

She was used to being questioned about her capacity to have a good time, but no one else in the town had to carry the weight of the world on their shoulders. "Excuse me for not taking off my top and throwing back shots of Tequila every night. I think most people would agree that I have more important things to do."

"You're afraid if you're not this textbook perfect, strong, loyal friend every waking moment, the people you care about will leave you," he said, adding a devious little simper that made her want to smack it right off his face. The world would be a much nicer place without it. "You care what everyone thinks. That's where your power to resist my irresistible charm comes from."

"First off, eww," she meant to grimace, but he managed to pull a grin out of her. She compensated for the slip with a business-like tone. "Keyword, the_ people I care about."_

"You don't care about me?" he sounded casual, but his expression sold him out.

Bonnie hadn't expected him to ask that, and her mouth stayed open for a while to taste her options. "I don't know. Sometimes . . . I guess . . . for. . ." She wanted to say 'for the sake of Elena', but she noticed the way he narrowed his eyes and hung onto her every word. And maybe that wasn't entirely true. She did care about the prick more than she was comfortable with admitting. She wouldn't feed his ego, though. "I care about everyone."

"I don't know how you see over your nose when it's always cocked up in the air." He opened his jacket and fished his keys out of the hidden pocket. "What do you do when it rains?" He walked off before she could even respond, and she pattered behind him, wanting to get her insult in before he was out of earshot. His stride was no match for hers, and by the time she caught up with him he was standing in front of his convertible.

She continued, "The same thing I always do-"

"-And what's that?" he cut in.

"Think of new ways to take you out without anyone remembering you ever existed."

Damon had a knack for turning negative into infuriating positives - tonight was no different. He tilted his head to the side. "So you think about me then?"

"You're annoying."

"You too," he opened the passenger door. "Get in. "

**OOOOOO**

Bonnie knew three things.

Damon liked gloomy music, he had a bad sense of direction and was actually capable of closing his mouth for more than a minute. She knew the first thing because every song he listened to was by some poor tortured soul who lost the love of his life or his reason for living over a girl - if it hadn't been for the acoustic beat she might have opened the door and rolled out onto the highway to make it stop.

She knew the second thing because clearly they weren't going to her house when she told him to drive her straight home. And she knew the last one because he hadn't said anything for five minutes. She figured he was finally realizing that he screwed up. Maybe he was so busy formulating a reason for kissing her that he completely missed the exit. Bonnie didn't feel badly for him. He couldn't say she hadn't warned him. It served him right.

Bonnie hadn't said anything either. She found herself enjoying the ride despite the awful music. The sky was dotted with stars, the air was fragrant and she'd kicked her shoes off again. All was right in the world - annoying Salvatore chauffeur or not. Still, she couldn't relax as much as she wanted to. There was something about Damon that always put her on edge and made her alert; even more than other vampires did. She had to make a conscious effort to keep her feet still. Not that Damon was paying her much attention. The last thing he'd said was "Put your seat-belt on" followed by a scoff when she suggested that he did the same thing.

She glanced at the radio once the song went off. Maybe just maybe something a little more upbeat would come on.

Coldplay.

No such luck.

Bonnie blamed the song. One line really caught her attention because it was so fitting. _I know something is broken and I'm trying to fix it. Trying to repair it anyway I can. _That line pretty much summed up the past year. Do some broken Damon-y thing, promise to behave, do some broken Damon-y thing, promise to behave. She could only imagine the web that Katherine must've spun to make him so screwed up.

She allowed herself to take in his profile while he was too distracted to notice. He'd stripped down to his undershirt and mussed his hair before getting in the car. She figured he was as miserable in his stuffy suit and hairstyle as she was in her shoes. Annoying, murderous, disgusting vampire aside - he was actually quite handsome. She frowned at the admission, even though she technically knew he would be considered a "hot" guy, she'd never considered him one. He was a vampire. He was Damon. He was Stefan's older brother. He was in love with Elena. He made her miserable. He questioned her ability. He fed her ego sometimes. He amused her with snarky banter. But that was usually where the observations ended.

She had another more useful observation. He parked the car on the shoulder of the road - between a thick patch of trees and a cemetery The area looked like the kind of place the Boogieman would love to hide. A bunch of scenarios flooded her mind at once; none flattering and all ending with frying a vampire's brain.

"Before you go all wicked witch, you should know the place we're going has food."

"So does my fridge," said Bonnie. "Without the creep factor of this place. Where are we?"

"A few miles outside of Mystic Falls ." Better known as the place he went to get away from doppelgangers brooding foreheads, bubbly blondes and prying witches. He hadn't had much use for it over the last few months, but tonight was an exception. He got out of the car. Of course, the witch was still glued to the passenger's seat. "Staying here?"

"You want me to go walking through a creepy cemetery?"

"170 year old vampire," he pointed at himself, then pointed at Bonnie. "Prodigy witch."

"This whole day just keeps getting weirder."

That morning she woke up bummed about not going to prom, then a 1,000 year old vampire asks her out and gives her a gorgeous gown. As if that weren't shocking enough, Damon tells her he's fantasized about doing her in her cheerleading uniform and whisks her off to a cemetery - where there is food supposedly. She was almost tempted to pinch herself. She wasn't exactly a stranger to crazy dreams.

"You mean better?"

She slipped her feet back into her heels, and got out of the car.

Thankfully they didn't walk that far. He stopped in front of a stone burial vault. It looked like a tiny house without windows or doors. There was an entrance, just large enough to slip inside if a person turned sideways. Bonnie didn't know which would be worse. Going in first or going in last. She decided she'd better go in last and take her chances. She wasn't sure what the older Salvatore was up to. Damon scowled, and she matched his intimidating glare with one of her own.

"Where's that Bennett courage when you need it?" asked Damon with a smirk.

"I'm not scared. It's just, I'm not sure what we're doing here."

"If I was up to something I would've done it by now."

"What's inside?"

He let out an exaggerated breath. "Wouldn't it be so much easier to just trust me?"

"No," Bonnie said. "Why do you have this place?"

Her feet were firmly planted on the ground, her eyebrow raised and her arms folded over her chest. There was obvious challenge in her eyes. It was clear that she wasn't moving until she got an answer.

"You have five seconds before I turn you into a mouse."

"Not if I b-" his hardened features relaxed. "You can do that now?"

"_Damon_."

"Fine," he said. "I've had this place since I was human. No one knows about it. I used it the same way i'm using now. To get away."

"So why did you bring me here?"

That was a good question. Damon wasn't quite sure of the answer himself, he was just going on those pesky little things called feelings. He didn't feel like watching her get out of his car and go inside of her house. He didn't feel like bringing her to the boarding house where she'd most likely spend all of her time trying to console Elena if Stefan brought her there. He didn't feel like being the bad guy to everyone for coming on to Bonnie. He settled on, "You're here because I think you need to get away too."

She had to admit the prospect of getting away for a bit was tempting - undoubtedly Caroline would stop by her house to see what happened - but she didn't think it was the smartest plan to hide out with Damon.

"There better be really good food."

The truth was he wasn't sure what was left in the mini-fridge - besides mini bottles of Vodka. He hadn't exactly planned on going to the crypt. A part of him didn't even think she'd agree to go inside. He frowned. Humans and their human-y needs sucked. . .

When he started walking back toward the iron gate they entered from, Bonnie trailed behind him and was tempted to hold onto his shirttail to keep up. The area was horror movie quiet - aside from her shoes crunching the leaves and her breath as she tried to stay close behind Damon. She considered asking him where they were going, but she wasn't exactly disappointed that they were leaving.

So she decided to keep her mouth shut and let him lead the way.

**OOOOOO**

There was a diner a mile or so from the cemetery.

They sat in a booth with the best view of the parkingspot where Damon's beloved car was. Bonnie considered teasing him about it, but she had to admit the neighborhood seemed pretty shoddy. The patrons were just as shoddy, if not more. In fact, she thought they looked the most normal out of everyone. It took a strange group of people to make a vampire and a witch in prom attire look normal.

Damon reached across the table and stole yet another one of her fries.

"Buy your own."

"Coming from the girl who isn't buying her own."

"You insisted."

"All apart of the plan."

"What plan?"

He wagged his brows. "You're dressed up, I bought you dinner, I have a drink, we're sharing food."

"This isn't a date," Bonnie corrected, then pulled the basket of fries further out of his reach. "I may not have guys banging down my door to get my attention, but i'd expect more than this place for a first date."

"You wouldn't."

"Are you calling me a _cheap _date?" she asked threateningly.

"I'm calling you a sap," said Damon, taking a sip of coffee. "Even if some guy took you to Burger King you'd probably pull candles out of your bra and say something like 'As long as we're together that's all that matters'."

_A sap?_ He was definitely showing his age, but now wasn't the time to tease him about that either. Since she was almost done with her food, they had more pressing issues. "So what happens after this? You take me home and apologize to Elena for being a jerk, right?"

He shook his head, pulling the basket of fries back to the center of the table. "We go back to my hideout and ignore everyone's calls. We stay up late, get into all kinds of trouble . . . and get you out of that dress."

She was about to give him the aneurysm of a lifetime until she realized what happened. "_Crap._" She licked ketchup off of her thumb before more of it ended up on her dress.

Damon considered spilling ketchup on all of her fingers just to see her do that again. Did she realize how seductive that was to a vampire? Of course she didn't. The hall monitor of witches would never purposely seduce the big bad vampire.

"That's a bad idea," she finally said.

"Of course it is." He leaned in, resting his arms on the table as he smirked suggestively. "Come on, Judgy. Be bad for a change."


	4. Part IV

**PART FOUR**

_A/N: Sorry about the wait ladies. Exams literally grabbed me by the collar and kicked me in the ass. Statistics, why art thou so cruel? *sobs*_

_Anywho, a lot has changed in the show since I started this story (and it was meant to be a one-shot), so I'm not following the show's events. _

_I really enjoyed coming back and reading all the comments. Amazing. Thanks. __For the readers surprised/confused about Klaus and Elena leaving, just trust me. It was for a totally legit reason (and not because they are secret Bamon shippers lol). But shoutout to Stefan the Bamon fanboy (tumblr tag)_

* * *

_Oh, boy._

He was serious. This wasn't some joke after all For once, he stopped smirking long enough for her to realize what his true intentions were. Not that they were all that special. She was sure he'd had the same intentions with a lot of other girls over the decades, but why'd he have to choose her? She wanted to tell him something fiery - make him feel like an asshole for even suggesting she spend the wee hours of the morning with him alone in some creepy isolated crypt; for making her _want _to spend time with him at all. But he was sizing her up with his troublesome blue eyes. Damon's gaze penetrated her thoroughly. It wasn't smug. It was . . . different. It made her feel stripped bare and self-conscious enough to squirm in her seat. She felt her bravado unraveling and goose bumps rise on her arms. The only thing more frightening than putting everything on the line for Elena was the idea of knowingly hurting her.

"I can't believe you got me in this mess."Bonnie cleared her throat when her voice cracked, and continued in a harsher tone. "Elena means everything to me."

"I know," he responded dryly.

"Then stop being an idiot."

"You first."

The second he said the words, Bonnie felt her skin burn hot.

"_I'm _the idiot?" She swayed to her feet, then slammed both palms against the table with so much force his coffee spilled. Damon hadn't expected to piss her off so easily, but he had to admit he took satisfaction out of the feat. She was always so composed - until someone threatened something she cared about. Sure, she cared about her friendships, but a part of him was hoping that just maybe she was pissed because he was wearing her down.

"I was going to finish that," he said in a mocking syrupy sweet tone that made Bonnie want to do some serious damage. He scooted near the window as the coffee dripped on the cushioned red booth-seat.

"You never think about the choices you make," she seethed.

Judging from the lack of interest from the patrons, he assumed the place was used to a rowdy crowd. Not that he gave a damn if they cared.

"And you have an annoying habit of making yourself the saint." He signaled the bubbly waitress with a flick of his wrist and she pranced over with her coffeepot in tow. He realized he must've really riled the witch up because she didn't wait for the server to leave before she started up again.

"I'm not trying to be a saint. It's called being mature."

"The only reason you're so mature is because you're scared."

Bonnie folded her arms across her chest. "Of?"

"You tell me."

The helpful waitress, who was obviously smitten with a certain vampire, pulled a hand towel out of her apron pocket and leaned over to clean the coffee. Bonnie was telling him that he wouldn't know anything about being mature, but he chose to stare at Debbie the waitress' boobs. After all, it would've been impolite not to. She'd unbuttoned her top a bit just before reaching their table, and he heard her tell one of her co-workers that she was going to slip him her number whether his "girlfriend" liked it or not. Hearing across the room. The many perks of being a vampire.

Besides, he was testing out a little theory.

"You're so disgusting." Bonnie grabbed her purse and walked away from the booth. She didn't think she could get out of that diner quick enough. Gosh, he was a living dead prick. In fact, if The Academy ever handed out an award for best living dead prick, Damon Salvatore was a shoe-in. And as for the waitress, Bonnie wanted to tell her she had more lipstick on her teeth than her lips and more shirt off her boobs than on. But they weren't the most important problem at hand. The real problem was that she had no idea how she was getting home - especially since she couldn't even describe where she was.

She wished she would've grabbed his keys; she wouldn't have a problem driving off without him. She'd find her way back to Mystic Falls eventually. Hell, she wished she would've watched the Lizzie McGuire marathon in her pjs instead of taking Klaus up on his offer in the first place.

Bonnie walked toward the highway. Before she could reach it, she was grabbed by her wrist and spun around so quickly her hair smacked her right in the face.

"Are you out of your mind?" Damon growled. "This place is crawling with shady people."

She was almost certain that no one there was as shady as he was. He was taken by surprise when she lurched forward and went straight for his keys.

"Take me home," she demanded through gritted teeth, her concentration solely on getting the prized keys out of his hand.

"I thought we were having fun."

"We have different ideas of what fun is."

"Obviously."

"Give me the keys," she ordered, trying to grab them, until he dangled them over her head.

If she jumped up, she probably could've reached them, but she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of moving his hand the moment his vampire reflexes kicked in.

He made the keys jingle above the both of them. "Jealousy looks good on you."

"Jea- what? I'm not jealous." She pushed his chest. "I'm annoyed."

"Because I was staring at her rack?" he wagged his eyebrows, leaned toward her and said, "You have to admit she had a great rack."

She got that familiar look of concentration - the one he admired and dreaded at the same same time. He waited for that head-splitting aneurysm that was sure to come. Instead he felt a force knock him off his feet and send him crashing to the pavement a few feet away from where he was standing. It felt like he'd been punched in the chest by an invisible giant. He realized she wasn't kidding about learning new spells over the weekend.

The clacking of her heels got his attention.

"No, No, No, No . . ." she panted, fell to her knees and stared at the storm drain. "Oh, no."

It didn't take long to find out what all the "no, no, no(s)" were for. He opened and closed his palms. Empty for sure. And judging by the stupid look on the witch's face, he was positive his car-keys went down the drain. What a fan-fucking-tastic night.

Damon laughed - a laugh that made his stomach muscles tighten and eyes narrow to slits. He didn't think it was possible to laugh so hard. Bonnie meant to ask him what was so damn funny, but she had a feeling she was looking at a very rare sight. As she waited for him to gain composure, she was almost tempted to pinch herself to make sure 'Damon the laughing vampire' was real.

"I . . . gave the spare to Elena, and since she probably won't be too happy about coming, it looks like we'll have to stay here for a while."

Bonnie's eyes widened as if he'd given her a death sentence. He'd have her know that outside of Mystic Falls there were people that would've loved to be in his company - uncompelled at that.

She sprang to her feet. "Stefan can pick us up."

"I don't need any lectures."

"Then Caroline can-"

"-No, she can't. She'll bring Elena."

He stood, then brushed the dirt off of his slacks.

"Then Matt or-"

"No."

"So we're supposed to just wait? Here?" she huffed. "Can't you hotwire it or something? I'm sure you of all people know how to do that."

"That hurts," he placed a hand where his beating heart should've been. "Sorry to disappoint you. I had better things to do than learn that skill."

"Like what?"

"Like making sure your ancestors stayed alive," he said. Bonnie could tell that he took pride in saying that. "-And I would've been a lot meaner if I knew what a pain in the ass you'd turn out to be. Beautiful. But still a pain in the ass."

It was her personal belief that the Bennett witches would've gotten along well with or without his help. She'd saved his life far more times than he'd saved hers.

"What are you doing?"

"Walking. It's still a free country isn't it?"

"Walking where?" Bonnie asked, following him.

"Back to the cemetery."

"That's _miles _away."

"Oh, yeah. I almost forgot. The big bad heels," he said, not bothering to slow his pace. "Too bad you don't have a broomstick."

"I'm not walking back there," she said, wanting to zap him with another spell for even suggesting it.

"Can't you just turn those shoes into a carriage?"

"I'm not just talking about my shoes. I don't want to be alone with you."

"That's obvious. I don't think you could've made that any more obvious to me." Damon meant to sound sarcastic, but instead he came off as bitter. He spun around with a smirk to throw her off, and stepped in her personal space. She didn't stumble back like he assumed she would. He lowered his voice to a throaty whisper that seemed more appropriate for the bedroom. "Then again, you do protest an awful lot and you know how the saying goes."

No comeback. The witch just gave him a strange look until he was forced to ask, "What?"

"Were you like this as a human? All self-assured, entitled, jerky-"

"-And devilishly handsome?" he cut in.

"I was going to say 'rude and badly dressed'."

"Badly dressed?" he frowned until there was a wrinkle between his brows. "You think I dress badly?"

"Well, you do wear a ton of black. It's boring."

"Should I be wearing colors like pink and calling it salmon?"

The thought of him wearing pink was almost as ridiculous as the thought of him with three heads. "No, but you don't have to dress like you're in mourning every single day."

What did she know? Sometimes he wore gray and white, thank you very much.

"It's like, why am I even listening to you," he said, mocking her valley-girl-esque insult. "You're a virgin who can't drive."

Bonnie grinned at that."I see you watched the Alicia Silverstone marathon."

Damon Salvatore ladies and gentleman. When he isn't tormenting the townspeople, vying for attention or just being a prick, he quotes lines from random chick-flicks.

"Hey, I was there for the alcohol. The television just so happened to be on."

"Right."

"I can carry you if you want," he said, changing the subject with so much calculation, Bonnie knew he'd been thinking about saying it for a while. "I mean, the knight in shining armor isn't usually my scene, but i'd play it for a while. Just let the record show that i'd much rather drink a meal than carry it."

And her scene wasn't the damsel in distress. Everything inside of her, down to the very marrow, said no - but her traitorous feet pulled a Bennett-dic Arnold on her. "Maybe just halfway."

He gave her a side-smirk, but decided not to deflate her ego. They both knew that she could barely make it from the car to the crypt so she couldn't make it halfway on her own.

"But if you touch anything you're not supposed to touch, you'll lose what ever you touched it with," she threatened.

"Suit yourself." Before she knew it one arm was behind her back, the other behind her knees and she was scooped off the pavement with supernatural strength. Her heartbeat changed immediately, and practically echoed on the quiet road. Bonnie was as rigid as a board and had her hands clasped together. Some of his victims were more relaxed than she was. All at once he realized a few things. She was afraid of being so close to him, she was warmer than most breathers, and she smelled sweet- a mixture of perfume that appealed to the humane part of him and blood that appealed to the monster in him. Even more surprising, he hadn't noticed how tiny she was. The fiery witch who was always on his case could be snapped in half in under a second. "This would be a lot less awkward if you put your arm around my shoulder."

"I'm fine like this."

"You look like you don't trust me."

"I never trusted you before, but at least you were somewhat predictable. Now - you're doing and saying all this weird stuff. I don't know what to think."

"Well, if I wanted to kill you, you'd be dead already so you can relax," he bit, sounding a little offended by her admission.

The rest of the walk was wordless until they reached the cemetery He slipped between the narrow entrance before her. He hadn't had a chance to get an electrician out so the place was pitch black. He told Bonnie to hold onto his shirt and just follow him. She hesitated, but since he knew the place well enough to navigate through the dark, she was forced to oblige. She heard a creaking noise and realized that it was coming from the floor. Damon knelt down to open a door that led to his hideout.

"Get on my back."

Bonnie was really tired of taking orders from him. She wrapped her arms around his neck tighter when she figured out they were going down a ladder. Good thing he didn't need oxygen. Once they were on a flat surface, she slid down his back and waited for his cue. The place was even darker; she couldn't even make out the outlines of his body,

She heard his footsteps moving away from her. It didn't take long for him to light a few candles on the coffee table. The place wasn't as creepy as she thought it would be. It was shabby, though. She couldn't fathom why he'd ever want to run away from a gorgeous mansion to chill out at a literal hole in the ground. There was a bookshelf similar to the one back at the boarding house, but a lot smaller. No windows of course. A sofa, a coffee table, a mini-fridge, a sink, a dresser, an ironing board he turned into a makeshift bar and a bed. She never pegged him as such an avid reader. There were books everywhere: the floor, opened on the bed, on the sofa.

"Think you have enough books?"

Damon floated through his "kitchen" area like a bartender with a happy hour rush, got two glasses and started pouring generously. He didn't answer the question until he walked toward the sofa.

"Before t.v there wasn't much to do down here so if I didn't bring someone back, i'd read," he said. "Now I have too many books for the shelf and someone stole the t.v."

"Why didn't you just get a new one?"

"Turns out there's only so much you can watch before it gets boring."

"How did the person even know about this place?" Bonnie asked.

"It was some girl. She got mad that I didn't pay her and stole a few things."

"This _girl_, sounds like a prostitute."

"Semantics," he said, patting the cushion next to him. "Sit."

"What did you need to get away from?" She wanted to add that it had to be pretty bad for him to use a crypt as refuge, but she decided against it.

"Depends on which decade you're talking about." That was a typical Damon response. Answering a question without answering _the_ question. "It's not the Four Seasons, but it has charm. And most importantly no one bothers me here ... until tonight."

"Why did you bring me here?"

"I already told you," he said, then took a sip of his drink. "I'm starting to think you're a robot whose default setting is interrogating me."

When he placed the second glass on the table, she ignored it. More for him, he supposed.

"I want a real answer. If what you said was true -Why now? Why tonight? On a night you know is important to Elena. Just stop your games and tell me what you're up to?" she paused to take a breath. "Do you need my help with something? Is Elena in trouble? Are you in trouble? If you need help just ask me. Don't pretend that-"

"I never had a problem with getting your help - threats, blackmail or otherwise," his jaw muscles tightened, and he took another sip to put himself at ease. "Don't try to pin your insecurities on me."

"My-"

"-Sure, you care about your friends. You're perfect. Witch of the year award goes to you. Friend of the century award goes to you. You put it all on the line, but deep down you don't think it's possible for anyone to choose you over Elena. That's why you're so mad at me."

Her mouth fell open, and it just stayed there - air going in and nothing coming out. She couldn't pinpoint exactly what she was feeling, but she felt betrayed by him. He was trying to pit her against her bestfriend to get what he wanted. He'd reached a new low. After a full minute passed, she finally told him, "That's not true and even it was, I would never ask anyone to choose. I don't expect that and I don't want that." But she was feeling venomous now, and a little scathed by his assessment, so she couldn't help but to say "Maybe you were confusing me with yourself."

"I know I can't compete with Stefan," he admitted easily. It was something that he came to terms with the moment his little brother was born. "It doesn't stop me from trying, and it doesn't stop me from taking what I want."

"You got what you wanted."

"I did- partially anyway- but I don't want it anymore," it was his first time saying it aloud - but he could tell from the confused look on her face that he hadn't really said anything. Was reading between the lines a lost art now? Oh, what the hell? There was no one down there but the two of them. If he regretted anything he said or if she tried to use it against him, he could always deny. Looking down at his empty glass, he added, "I don't want her anymore. I guess you can say I wanted her for all the wrong reasons."

Bonnie glared at him as if he'd said something blasphemous. "I don't know what happened between you two tonight, but this isn't you. You don't care about much, but you love Elena more than anything."

"People change."

"That's a lame excuse and you know it."

"Not as crappy as your excuses," he fired, and continued before she gave him yet another confused look as she demanded an explanation. "Come on, Bonnie, give me some credit. I've been around long enough. You've thought about this before. Being with me- alone. No one to bug us with doppelganger murder attempts-"

"You're insane."

"I can hear the way your heart speeds up when I get close to you," he leaned in to prove his point. "It always has. Sometimes it's because I make you nervous, but other times it happens because-"

"Do you realize how ridiculous you sound?" Bonnie cut in, her tone at the highest octave.

She stood, and bumped into the table in her haste to create space between them. Damon was quick. He didn't even have to stand in order to grab a handful of her dress, where the material bunched at her waist a little. She didn't struggle.

"We'll talk about something else. Just sit. Drink," he threw a smirk in to get the light-hearted mood back on track, but she didn't buy it. She sat further away from him.

Witches. Always paranoid, cranky or spastic when it came to vamps.

Damon left her on the couch to refill his glass, and came back with a cream book with gold pages. With his feet propped on the table, dangerously close to a candle, her glass dangerously close to the candle and the book on his lap, Bonnie realized two things. One, he was a walking fire hazard and two, he had no plans to talk to her as long as his nose was in that book. She wasn't sure why the latter disappointed her. He'd just backed her into a corner; she should've been happy that he closed that big mouth of his.

Her dress made a swishing sound as she scooted back to her original spot.

"What's that?"

"A book."

"About?"

"Stuff."

"Like?"

"You're annoying," said Damon, looking up from the book.

"So are you."

They silently challenged each other until one of them folded.

"Poetry from the 1800s."

1 point for Team Witchy. 0 points for Team Vampy.

"I didn't know you like poetry."

"I _liked_," he corrected. "This one was a gift. I promised to finish reading it ... about 178 years ago."

"What's taking you so long?" Bonnie asked, genuinely interested.

"My aversion to all things boring."

"It can't be that bad," she said. "Who did you promise?"

When he didn't respond, she had a fleeting thought that involved him writhing on the floor in pain. He had to be one of the most difficult people ... vampires ...whatever ... in the world. Instead of resorting to violence, she looked around the room. Which led her to thinking about things like, where would she sleep, what about pjs and her other human needs? Besides, she couldn't spend the night there with Damon. Everyone would think something went on for sure.

"Looking for something?" he arched a brow.

"No ... well, yeah. I can't stay here all night."

"Why not?"

"I don't have a toothbrush, pajamas, there's no food here, only one bed, no bathroom-"

"There's a bathroom," he pointed at a folded screen near the bookcase.

"There's no door. It's just a flimsy screen. No way."

Damon rolled his eyes. Sure, he could be a perv at times, but he wasn't that hard up. Who did she think he was?

"If you need privacy I can go get some air for a while." He hadn't fed all day anyway, and the witch clearly wasn't going to let him feed from her. He gulped the last of his drink.

"Maybe for just a while. Give me about fifteen minutes. And don't go too far."

"Can't stand to be away from me?" he said in a tone that Bonnie was willing to admit was mildly seductive - if one was into the maniac types.

"I don't want to be alone here."

"Again," he pointed to her. "Prodigy witch."

"Just, shut up and come back soon." It was bad enough she had to tell him to come back soon in the first place. The least he could do was not be a douche.

Damon slipped a leather jacket on. "I don't have a curfew. I'll stay out until the sun comes up if I want."

"And I would drive a stake through your heart myself." She knew threatening people wasn't exactly the Queen's etiquette but where were his manners?

"Whatever, Witchy," he dismissed her threat. "I have a few shirts in that drawer. I know I _dress badly, _but you can borrow what you need. As far as the bed-" He did one of his weird eye things. "Since you're so mature we can share it. You've already proved you can resist me, so you should have nothing to worry about."

He gave her a smile that was anything but friendly, then climbed the ladder.

_Jerk._


End file.
